Shelburne athletes on the gridiron

With the start of football season now just a month away, members of the Orangeville Outlaws Football Club have taken to outdoor practice on the field at the Agricultural Centre.

Coming off a championship season last year, the Outlaws have several strong looking teams - especially at the Junior Varstiy and Varsity levels where there is a full roster of experienced players.

The Outlaws draw players from not only Orangeville but also from the Shelburne area and from Caledon to fill out the ranks.

Varsity division wide receiver Alex Iozzo is one of the players who makes the trek from Melancthon to take part in pre-season training.

Iozzo has been a member of the Outlaws for the past six seasons.

"This is our first practice outdoors,” Alex said. “Up until now, we've been indoors at the dome at Acts Fitness. Practicing out, we have equipment. This is our first practice this year with equipment. It's a lot more aggressive.

“There's a lot more hitting than when we were inside Instead of working on the catching and the covering we're doing more hitting and making sure we are tackling right. I'm on offence, so I like to catch and run with the ball."

With every season, players are moving up to the higher divisions. This year, the Varsity squad is seeing a good turnout of players.

"We're bigger than we were last year,” said Alex. “Last year we had 25 players, this year we have thirty-something.”

The Outlaws will be fielding teams in the Varsity, Junior Varsity, Bantam, and Peewee divisions this season in the Ontario Minor Football League.

The OMFL has 48 teams registered from 18 clubs with six different divisions this season.

The League has member clubs from around the GTA, surrounding towns and cities, and stretching right down to the London and Windsor areas.

The OMFL season will get underway in May with opening games taking place over the May 21, 22 weekend.